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youtube video series about bee lining

When I started hunting for the bees I had no idea whether I'd find a feral hive, a bee yard, or nothing but chiggers and skeeters. For that reason I started filming when I started hunting and just recorded my experiences day by day and posted each day's video as I found the time.

It was a very slow process probably because I had no experience. I'm pretty sure others are faster at finding wild bee trees and that's fine. I read some threads on this forum about a beek (Randy Ray) ? who found a wild hive in 20 minutes. Bless your heart. lol And I did watch another video (showing only the hive, but not the hunt) where the fella found the hive in just a few minutes. Will wonders ever cease?

One reason I posted the series is because there's no other videos posted on the subject except for one by Mcartney Taylor giving an introduction to the process. I hope the series I posted will encourage others to start bee lining and to record their experiences and make videos of the hunts so the rest of us can watch and learn.

My video mainly highlights how difficult it is to get a line on bees in the forest until the lighting is "just right." This morning I read a series of threads on this forum sharing experiences and suggestions. I did try coating one bee with powdered sugar. It didn't occur to me that the sugared bee would be cleaned off at the hive by the other bees. lol So, that idea was a bust for me.

From the same starting point as "my first try bee lining" I now have another bee line. I'm following that line as weather, my poor eyesight and my old ailing back permits. Whether I record that second adventure and post it is still up in the air for me at this time. If I do record the second try I'll take a slightly different tack for the whole process.

Anyway, if you decide to give the videos a look I hope you find the series interesting.
Oh, as of October 31, 2013 I have NOT opened my youtube account up to advertising, so I benefit nothing from making the series, except getting the learning experience, sharing my experience with people and observing the number of views.

The only thing that might be considered "new" is that I introduce what I call a redneck bee box. I did try catching a few bees in a jar to feed and try getting a bee line from those bees, but that didn't work great for me. So I tried something else which did work for me, that is, after a few tries.

I drew a few maps (mainly shown at the end of a day's video) with Paint showing the lines the bees took from the feeders I put along the way and my progress as I made progress. Just so you know up front its not an action movie by any stretch.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

burns375... True, but, if you can find the colony, you can possibly trap from it, and if you can trap it, you could get 2-4 colonies from it each year.

Swarm boxes are hit or miss, trapping is 100%.

cchoganjr

Cleo,

Yes of course. Your methods of trapping have been very sucessful for me. I have told and taught many KBA members your methods.

But the chances of finding that hive is low, especially in an urban setting with alot of buildings or a forested area with plenty of old trees. If you are in the country with not many buildings and alot of farm land without many trees than you may have somewhat of a chance of "bee-lining" a hive.

Club members have atleast 8 kept hives within 1 mile from my house in an urban area. My hives are located elsewhere. When I extract at home I attract alot of honey bees, they come in bunches. 1 or 2 turns in 10-20, before long there are 100's if not 1000's of honey bees in my backyard. There is no way I'de be able to find those hives without otherwise knowing where the members live.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

burns375... Everything you say is absolutely true. And, yes, right now the chances of finding the hive is small. But, my hopes would be, that research into this subject, and practical applications, will improve the chances of finding bee colonies.

What I would encourage is, people to advance the theory and application of bee lining. If each beekeeper could advance the knowledge in this direction (and be willing to share their knowledge), some time in the future, others could use that knowledge to find bees in the wild.

I share your concerns about extracting. When people use my facility, there are hundreds and thousands of bees trying to get into the honey house, so, I know there are bees somewhere close, just don't know where. If some one will perfect a method, I will use it to find their hives.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

Cleo.

There is a published paper where they put RFD tags on honey bees to study navigation. They released the honey bees 1-8 miles away. The rfd tag was scanned when the honey bee returned home. Don't remember the particulars, but some distances were beyond normal max forage radius. Believe it or not, almost every honey bee returned, the % returned decreased with distance. Some of the 7-8 mile bees made it back 2-3 days later. I wish I saved the link.

I wonder in time if engineers can develope smaller and smaller gps (signal sending chips) with short term batteries (2-3 hours) or solar powered that could be placed on a bee and tracked. I understand rfd tags are very small, but who knows. The chip could weigh as much as a filled honey stomach. Researchers who study insects could drive its develope similar to radio collars on elk in Eastern Kentucky. Also study the migration of invasive insects like the emerald ash borer, others.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

burns375,

Thanks for the input.

Last Spring I set 28 lure boxes and caught one swarm I suspected might come to a tree which drew swarms the previous 2 years. I also caught a swarm in one of those lures which I watched swarm from its hive. There was adequate satisfaction gained in each instance.

While its true that one can buy a package of bees cheaper than finding a hive by bee lining IF it takes as long as it took me to find my first feral hive, the satisfaction gained by accomplishing the feat can't be bought at any price. There's also other benefits as Cleo mentioned.

In your conversation with Cleo you mentioned a group tracking bees returning from various release points while tracking them with RFID chips. I read that report just last night and I remember the chips weigh a fraction of the bees usual foraged nectar. And there's a multitude of links regarding bee researchers using RFID chips.

I'll still set lure boxes next Spring. I'll also do as Cleo mentioned, try multiplying each hive by either trying to make starts or using the OTS queen rearing system or both, whichever seem more appropriate at the time.

Mainly I set out to find the hive for the novelty, the education and the experience. I posted the experience for entertainment and hoping that others (who have the time and ability) will do the same so we can share what we learned.

I enjoy the outdoors, used to deer hunt, but can't sit still (bad back) in the cold long enough to justify going into the woods just to deer hunt. While bee lining I saw several deer, no horns yet, and found enough fresh rubs and scrapes to know there's a buck in those woods. So, even tough its all about the bees, its not only about the bees.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

I watched the whole series. Happy that you were able to find the bees in the end. A lot of time and effort invested. Not sure that I would have been able to stick it out.

Originally Posted by burns375

When I extract at home I attract alot of honey bees, they come in bunches. 1 or 2 turns in 10-20, before long there are 100's if not 1000's of honey bees in my backyard. There is no way I'de be able to find those hives without otherwise knowing where the members live.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

Here is the method I use for bee lining and it works well especially the tip about doing it on an overcast day. I might add that for me bee lining is easy because it is so flat here and barren that if you stand on an apple box and look west you can see the back of your head.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ7eqau_q5E

But every sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 chevrolet- Jim Croce

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

Burns... there is a gps small enough to attatch to a honeybee. There has been a few studies about bee lining with it. It turns out that a bee will stay within a few inches of it's bee line for three miles. The only thing that makes it run off is wind and it tracks right back on. I imagine it is expensive as all get out.

I found out how to bee line rather quickly when one of my hives was getting robbed out. I found out that one of my neighbors 3/4 of a mile away was keeping bees.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

[QUOTE=cblakely;1015748]I watched the whole series. Happy that you were able to find the bees in the end. A lot of time and effort invested. Not sure that I would have been able to stick it out.

Thanks for watching the whole series. That took a lot of effort, too. lol

I'm not sure I can repeat the process without some recuperation time.
The bees I got a line on from back at the tank took me almost due East into the woods, but so far I've not been able to get a line on them in the forest.

Thanks for the link. I recognize very well some of the difficulties the man expressed, and he has mostly open places to watch the bees go from his box.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

I have some fond memories of being recruited as the "young, good set of eyes" for beelining. It was always a fun day, hiking and a picnic, when I was 12.
Now that I can't see too great, I understand why I got to help out. Hehehe! Take some sharp eyed kids, it greatly increases your sucess.

Around here, if you beeline, you find bees that would require dynamite, and a backhoe to get out. Lots of ledge-dwellers.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

This reminds me of something I saw on placing GPS on homing pigeons. what they found was a bit surprising. pigeons do not B line back home they actually fly in huge circles eventually closing in on their home. second and third attempts they got more accurate. It would be nice to see the same sort of info on a honey bees flight back home.

As the videos suggest to. the bees may have been making a looping curve back to the tree. maybe there was another hive somewhere.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

Originally Posted by jadebees

I have some fond memories of being recruited as the "young, good set of eyes" for beelining. It was always a fun day, hiking and a picnic, when I was 12.
Now that I can't see too great, I understand why I got to help out. Hehehe! Take some sharp eyed kids, it greatly increases your sucess.

Around here, if you beeline, you find bees that would require dynamite, and a backhoe to get out. Lots of ledge-dwellers.

Re: youtube video series about bee lining

DanielY said:

As the videos suggest to. the bees may have been making a looping curve back to the tree. maybe there was another hive somewhere.

The last line to the East from the tank location makes me think that's s definite possibility. I tried getting a line from those from out in the forest a little way, but couldn't stay with the hunt. I didn't realize how exhausted I was from those few weeks hunting the hive I did find. I'm still not sure I'm recovered enough, but its too cold now to take another shot. Maybe next Spring.

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